There may be a reason behind the prototype being better than the final. The (one and only) programmer of the game, a former member of Sega's AM2 team that made Virtua Fighter, was rumored to have been so pissed at Atari (who did not treat him well) that he intentionally submitted an earlier, inferior version of the game as the "final" copy. Seeing this video compared to the "final" game confirms said rumor for me.
Ah, this is indeed better than the final version. Backgrounds seem better, and the gameplay looks smoother and more fast-paced.
Still not as good as Virtua Fighter 2 for the Saturn... the moves seem really uninteresting, the characters aren't too sharp, and it's still pretty slow... but at least this version can look Virtua Fighter 2 in the face.
Also, part of the boring moves may be that I suck at the game hehe. I just haven't given it enough time to really get into it, but apparently when you defeat a character you inherit his/her special moves. Interesting concept, for sure, but as you say, still not up to par with the other 3D fighters out at the time.
Yeah man, I remember being majorly disappointed by this game back when it came out. I wasn't even going to get it until I played the original Tekken on a friend's Playstation, and thought, damn, if that 3D fighting game for the Jag is even half this good, it should be fun. Man, it wasn't even close to half.
There was a game that was released, but crippled by the developers because of non-payment from Atari or something... this might be the one. I just can't recall for sure right now.
If that is true, that was an extremely petty move on the developer's behalf. I understand their stance if Atari didn't payed up but crippling your own work not only made them look bad but it also damaged the game reputation. They could have easily sue Atari and claim all profits from the development and sale of the game later on. A good game remains in the memory of gamers many years after the fact and that is good reputation a company will always have. A real shame what happened in the end.
There may be a reason behind the prototype being better than the final. The (one and only) programmer of the game, a former member of Sega's AM2 team that made Virtua Fighter, was rumored to have been so pissed at Atari (who did not treat him well) that he intentionally submitted an earlier, inferior version of the game as the "final" copy. Seeing this video compared to the "final" game confirms said rumor for me.
skyrunner14 4 months ago in playlist More videos from viMasterJag
LOL, whats that little skip he does at the end? A victory dance?
KANGAshawn 7 months ago
@KANGAshawn Nope, it's a victory skip! ;-)
viMasterJag 7 months ago
@viMasterJag Definitely on my list of games to get for my Jag collection ;)
KANGAshawn 5 months ago
LOL 16-bit!
dmarescajr 1 year ago
I like the totally rad, awesome, rockin' soundtrack.
fistyeah21 1 year ago
Michael Jackson vs. Aladdin
nogoodcharles 1 year ago 2
Virtua Fighter can beat that
Linkonpark100 2 years ago
@Linkonpark100 duh
viMasterJag 2 years ago 4
Ah, this is indeed better than the final version. Backgrounds seem better, and the gameplay looks smoother and more fast-paced.
Still not as good as Virtua Fighter 2 for the Saturn... the moves seem really uninteresting, the characters aren't too sharp, and it's still pretty slow... but at least this version can look Virtua Fighter 2 in the face.
And again,moving around the ring in 3D is cool.
ephiany1 2 years ago
Bleh, almost forgot: Thanks for sharing this with us, viMaster. Getting to look at unreleased betas and other unreleased stuff is a real treat.
ephiany1 2 years ago
Also, part of the boring moves may be that I suck at the game hehe. I just haven't given it enough time to really get into it, but apparently when you defeat a character you inherit his/her special moves. Interesting concept, for sure, but as you say, still not up to par with the other 3D fighters out at the time.
viMasterJag 2 years ago
@viMasterJag Wow I have forgotten I have always wanted that in a fighting game!
DanielBMS 1 year ago
I love Jaguar but this is mere Ofal.
WaxHeadroom 2 years ago
Is it just me, or does Lun look a lot like Freddy Krueger?
Maniaxe613 2 years ago
@Maniaxe613 yes yes, he does look like Freddy! haha
Neon360 2 years ago
The texture maps are so cheap and dirty.
redfoxbennaton 2 years ago
Yeah man, I remember being majorly disappointed by this game back when it came out. I wasn't even going to get it until I played the original Tekken on a friend's Playstation, and thought, damn, if that 3D fighting game for the Jag is even half this good, it should be fun. Man, it wasn't even close to half.
sinistarxx 3 years ago 6
The textures and speed do seem alot different. I wonder why they decided to change it in final.
jacobykid 3 years ago
There was a game that was released, but crippled by the developers because of non-payment from Atari or something... this might be the one. I just can't recall for sure right now.
viMasterJag 3 years ago
If that is true, that was an extremely petty move on the developer's behalf. I understand their stance if Atari didn't payed up but crippling your own work not only made them look bad but it also damaged the game reputation. They could have easily sue Atari and claim all profits from the development and sale of the game later on. A good game remains in the memory of gamers many years after the fact and that is good reputation a company will always have. A real shame what happened in the end.
TheSciFiCat 2 years ago
But how much of a financial burden would it have been for a smaller video game design company to sue Atari back then?
I don't know how big the company was that did Fight For Life, but back in those days you had very small teams working on games.
These days you have tons of employees working on the same game.
Also, Atari, according to many progress reports found from those days, was notorious for not paying on time.
viMasterJag 2 years ago
very generic, even for 1996. its no wonder this stuff never sold.
hellspit2003 3 years ago
Cool music!.
So, is this really better than the released version?
saturndual32 3 years ago
I always wanted to check out FFL... This one looks quicker than the released version...
KevinCali24 3 years ago
I beat the game back in 96 the first or second evening I got it. It's really not that well executed a game.
A31Chris 3 years ago